


Fear Will Keep Us All In Place

by runthegamut (orphan_account)



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-02
Updated: 2008-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-05 08:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/721233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/runthegamut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray drags a reluctant Bob to a haunted house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fear Will Keep Us All In Place

Bob looked up the driveway at the line of kids forming at the back of the house before ducking his head to light a cigarette, hand shielding the flame of his lighter from the October wind. “You really want to do this?” he asked as he exhaled in a huff.

Ray glanced over at the old farm house and then back to Bob, smiling wide and unashamed. “Yeah, this like… tradition. I’ve been going to these since I was ten or something.”

Eying a group of giggling teenage girls, Bob sighed wearily, but continued to lumber up the hill toward the house. He squared his shoulders against the cold and took another tug on his cigarette, mentally cursing the fact that he’d only worn a thin jean jacket. Ray was wearing an actual winter coat and looked comfortable with his hands shoved in the pockets. Bob had snorted and called Ray a wuss for wearing it, so he wasn’t about to complain that it was chilly.

“Come on, you don’t think it’ll be fun?” Ray wondered, sensing Bob’s apprehension.

Glaring at Ray, Bob exhaled out of the corner of his mouth and shook his head. “Dude, we’re way too old for haunted houses. Honestly? It’s kind of embarrassing.” They’d already had this conversation three times now, but Ray was so earnest in insisting that it would be fun, Bob had given in.

“If you don’t have fun, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll buy you a cup of hot chocolate,” Ray grinned. Bob narrowed his eyes further at his friend, causing Ray to add, “Or coffee.”

From behind the house came the roar of a chain saw and a cluster of shrieks and Bob closed his eyes and hung his head. “Coffee,” he grumbled between drags on his cigarette.

Ray, smiled wider and jogged up the drive to go buy their tickets as Bob followed at a leisurely pace. Taking a last drag on his cigarette, he resisted the urge to flick it into the yard, instead dropping it down into the coffee can by the side of the house. Bob looked down at his red knuckles as he joined the back of the line, waiting for Ray to return.

When Ray returned a few minutes later with tickets in hand, the line had only moved forward a few paces. Bob ran his fingers against the grain of his beard, _his beard, jesus christ_ and thought again about how he was too old to be paying money to be “scared” by strangers in costumes and strobe lights.

He caught the group of girls in line ahead of them watching him, giggling before they quickly turned away and whispered to each other. Bob looked over to Ray to complain again about how this was maybe the stupidest idea Ray had ever had, but Ray was studying his shoes, his curly hair blowing around his head in the wind as he buried his face inside the collar of his coat. The words caught in Bob’s throat as a warm feeling curled around his stomach and he could only manage a gruff, “Line’s moving,” before shuffling ahead.

“Cold?” Ray asked as he caught Bob rubbing his hands together unconsciously.

Bob quickly shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Nah,” he lied.

“Oh, okay. ‘Cuz I was going to say, I have gloves if you want them.” Ray, the bastard, pulled the gloves from his coat pocket to illustrate the point.

Before Bob could respond, the line moved again and they were stepping inside the house where a bright light and a space heater warmed the area right before the start of the attraction. The girls ahead of them filed forward through a door into a darkened room where a howl emanated from, along with loud thudding noises.

“Scared?” Bob teased as the door closed.

“Yeah, right,” Ray chuckled, scuffing his toe against the unfinished flooring, his head down. Bob watched him until Ray suddenly looked up at him, his smile small and warm. “You?”

Turning away, Bob felt that curl in his stomach again. “Coffee. I expect some coffee when we’re done.”

“You know, you _might_ actually enjoy yourself,” Ray argued, stepping ahead of Bob in line and looking back at him with raised eyebrows.

Bob held Ray’s gaze for a beat before answering. “Highly unlikey,” he replied, sounding bored.

When the door opened again, a worker motioned them forward and Bob followed Ray into the darkened hallway. The Halloween soundtrack pumped through the speakers supplied the sound of wind and coyote’s howling. They headed forward a few feet before turning the hallway turned into a room with one bare light hanging down and a man with a faceless mask in a cage. He had a heavy metal chain that he whipped at the wall across from him every few seconds.

Ray stood rigid as the chain smacked against the wall time and time again, blocking their path. Bob shifted his weight back and forth from behind Ray, growing impatient with waiting.

“Oh fer chrissakes,” Bob muttered, stepping around Ray. “He’s not going to hit us.” He passed in front of where the figure stood and the flogging stopped.

Ray hurried behind Bob, pressing closer than necessary as they exited the room. “I was just appreciating the performance,” he explained, but Bob rolled his eyes in response.

“Sure, Toro. Whipping a chain against the wall has a lot of artistic merit,” he answered, amused. He paused at the doorway to the next room before stepping through. The room had a staged scene of a patient on a metal hospital bed and a mad doctor disemboweling him.

“No, it’s not _artistic_. I was appreciating the, uh… the simplicity of it as a way to inspire fear on a totally psychological level,” he replied, clearly bullshitting.

“Shut the fuck up, you liar,” Bob laughed, when a figure emerged from behind the door, roaring at them.

Ray clutched Bob’s arm as he jumped in surprise. Bob’s heart raced for a moment as the shock of it hit him, but he managed to keep from reacting outwardly to it. He tugged Ray further into the room, shaking his head slightly.

“What? That didn’t scare you?” Ray asked, incredulous. He let go of Bob’s arm and leaned across the rope barrier to the staged area of the room, investigating the accuracy of the fake blood.

“No,” Bob lied, glancing back over his shoulder to where the haunted house worker was disappearing behind the door to hide for the next group that passed through. He gave the dummy on the table a quick look over before shrugging and heading toward the door, which was covered with black, plastic streamers.

From behind him, Bob could hear Ray chuckling. “Whatever, Bryar,” he said, dubious.

Bob stepped through the doorway cautiously, brushing back the smooth plastic that clung to his arms and looking around for anyone who would jump out at them. The room was painted black and empty, save for a strobe light in the corner. He took a few steps in, looking for a door on the other side.

“What the fuck?” Bob muttered as he headed across the room, trying to find an exit.

As Ray stepped around Bob, feeling his way across the walls for the seam of a door, the sound of a chain saw roared behind them and Bob whirled around to find a masked man with a chain saw charging them in what appeared to be slow motion. Bob stood, feet firmly planted, and glared at the chainless blade of the chainsaw, annoyed more than anything.

Ray seized Bob by the arm and pulled him back toward the entrance to the room. Bob could see his mouth open, but couldn’t hear any sound coming out as the lights blinked on and off rapidly. As the moved back the way they’d come, something caught Bob’s eye and he looked in the direction in which their assailant had come, seeing a false black wall in front of the real thing.

Bob stopped abruptly and pulled Ray toward the back of the room, the chainsaw-wielding worker chasing them as they changed directions. Bob ducked between the two walls and found the passage into the next room, which had been obscured from their view when they’d stepped into the room. As they stumbled out of the room, the sound of the chainsaw died out and Bob could hear Ray laughing uproariously.

“You’re some kind of freak,” Bob said, trying to sound unimpressed by Ray’s reaction, but he couldn’t help but smile at Ray’s hysterical giggles.

Wiping at the corners of his eyes, Ray swatted Bob playfully. “Oh, come on. That was fun,” he protested.

It was fun, more because of Ray than the actual content of the haunted house, but Bob just sighed heavily, still grinning, and started off into the next room. The girls from ahead of them in line were piling out the door, shrieking and laughing in a frenzy as a coffin at the far end of the room swung shut.

Bob paused in the doorway, holding his hand up to signal Ray to stop. “Let them get ahead of us a bit,” he instructed, imagining the headache he’d develop if he had to continue through the haunted house with those girls directly in front of them.

Ray gave his assent and they lurked at the back of the room another moment before Bob strolled up to the coffin. He folded his arms across his chest, feet shoulder-with apart and waited. A scream sounded from a speaker in the far corner of the room before the lid to the coffin flew open and a man dressed as a vampire, fake blood streaming down the corners of his mouth. His fingers were curled as he leaned forward like he was going to attack.

“That was awesome,” Bob said to the man.

“Yeah, you look pretty authentic,” Ray added from behind Bob. Out of the corner of his eye, Bob could see Ray gesturing with a thumb up.

The haunted house worker stared at them a moment and Bob was sure he was going to ask if they were too old to be there, but instead he laid back down and shut the lid to the coffin, lying in wait for the next group.

“Alright, on to the next thing then,” Bob mumbled before turning and heading to the door. He stepped through, into a long dark hallway.

A flashlight switched on from beside Bob, where a worker dressed in black stood. She pointed the beam of light down the hall and nodded. With a shrug, Bob headed forward, the light switching off a moment later.

“Is this a maze?” Bob called out, his hand held out in front of himself. There was no answer, but when he reached the end of the corridor, Bob patted his way around in the dark, finding himself in another narrow corridor. “Awesome, a maze,” he answered himself. He stayed in place a moment and listened, hearing shuffling on the other side of the wall.

As Bob made his way down the hall, Ray reached out and held on the hem of Bob's jean jacket, causing it to pull tight across Bob's chest. It was annoying at best, and Bob felt like it was making it hard for him to breathe. He stopped abruptly, spinning around in the dark toward Ray.

"Dude, seriously, are you _scared_?" he accused.

Ray sputtered for a moment before answering. "No! I can't see anything! I don't want to get separated." He mumbled the last bit, his voice trailing off at the end.

"'Cuz you're scared," Bob supplied, his voice sure. He turned back around to continue when Ray dropped his hand from Bob's jacket.

"Not scared," Ray muttered, and Bob could hear Ray's feet shuffling along behind him, uncertain without the aid of sight.

Sighing heavy, Bob reached back and batted his hand back and forth until he made contact with Ray's, seizing it. "Oh, come on," he grumbled, his prying Ray's hand off his jacket. Bob kept a hold of it, his fingers loosely curling around Ray's as his other hand skimmed along the wall ahead of him to feel his way through the darkness. "Pulling on my clothes is annoying," he explained, trying his best to sound irritated, like Ray was somehow forcing him into holding his hand.

Ray didn't answer, just followed along behind Bob, his hand stilled of movement as it was clasped in Bob's. His hand was warm, and the contrast made Bob realize how cold his own hands remained from standing outside earlier. It was nice.

There was giggling on the other side of the flimsy plywood walls of the maze, and Bob rolled his eyes in the dark. His hand struck a wall in front of him and he stopped abruptly, Ray pausing a moment later, close enough that Bob could feel the heat of his body through his clothes. Bob turned himself slightly to the left and took a few tentative steps forward before continuing forward.

After a short time, the wall opened into an intersection with the choice of going left or right. Bob decided to pick one direction and stick with it and turned right. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough that he could make out when the wall disappeared ahead, coming to another set of options. He chose right each time, unless the choice was between left or straight, in which case he carried forward.

When they reached an intersection Bob was positive they'd been through before, he figured they'd spent the past five minutes going in a circle.

"God fucking dammit," he grumbled. "I think we're fucking lost in here."

When Ray didn't reply, Bob realized how uncharacteristically quiet he'd been. "Toro, what the fuck? Are you still with me here?" He looked back over his shoulder to make sure it was still his friend's hand he was holding.

"Huh?" the darkened figure of Ray answered.

"I said, I think we're lost. Dude. What are you dreaming about?"

"Nothing!" Ray replied quickly, his tone almost whiney. "I'm just… I'm just following along."

 

Bob turned and began walking again, this time choosing to go left when they reached an intersection. His hand was now warm where they were touching, the tips of Ray's fingers just barely curling around Bob's. He slid his palm across Ray's hand to get a better hold, figuring Ray would be utterly lost without him.

"What, you thinking about that Katie girl?" Bob asked, forcing a chuckle.

There was a pause from Ray and then quietly, "No."

Bob stopped again, the area ahead of them looking slightly darker. He ran his free hand over the wall to be sure, and confirmed it was a dead end. He turned around, one hand still holding Ray's and the other going to Ray's hip to nudge him around. His fingers gripped Ray's hipbone of their own accord. Bob could feel Ray tensing under his touch, but couldn't bring himself to move his hand, and Ray continued to stand there, facing the wrong way.

"Dead end," Bob said, and he could just make out Ray's curls bouncing as he nodded in response.

"We should—" he started again, before his words cut off as Ray brought both of his hands up to Bob's face. There was a slight brush of Ray's fingers over his beard before Ray's lips were against his.

Bob sucked a sharp breath in through his nose, his body frozen as Ray held himself against Bob’s mouth. After a moment, Ray was pulling back, and the absence of him in Bob’s space was palpable. Bob didn’t hesitate before grabbing the chest of Ray’s coat and pulled him back in.

Now that he was prepared for what was happening, Bob returned the kiss, their noses rubbing together, Ray’s hair tickling Bob’s cheeks. Their kiss was broken when Ray came staggering forward, Bob bumping up against the wall.

“Oh, sorry,” a male voice called out in the darkness behind Ray.

“Fucking--” Bob started as he pushed himself back up. “Watch where the hell you’re going!” he yelled.

“Maybe if you weren’t blocking the way,” the voice replied in a mumble.

Bob leaned forward to go after the guy when Ray’s hand found his shoulder, gently but firmly holding him in place. “It’s a fucking dead end, asshole,” he spat back. “Jesus fucking…” He clenched his jaw and shook his head, even though no one could see him.

“Hey,” Ray said gently. “It’s okay. Just let it go.”

Something about his tone caused Bob to relax and he nodded his head in response. “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he grumbled, reaching down for Ray’s hand as he attempted to head back in the direction they came.

Ray’s grasp was tighter on his hand now and Bob blinked a few times to clear his head and focus on the task at hand. He weaved them through the maze, pausing now and again at intersections to allow other parties to pass ahead of them.

When turning one corner, a flicker of light caught Bob’s eye and he paused before turning in the opposite direction, his toe bumping against the bottom stair. He patted his hand over the side of the wall and found a handrail before tentatively taking a step up.

“Looks like the way is up,” he told Ray, pausing for him to find the handrail as well. Ray dropped Bob’s hand and they made their assent in the darkness. Once they reached the top, a worker flipped on a flashlight and directed them to the right, where a giant slide extended out of a window.

“Seriously?” Bob laughed, before stepping up to the window. He rolled his eyes and climbed through it, sitting down and then raising his feet to slide out of the house and down on to the front lawn. When he reached the bottom, he was helped to his feet by two workers and turned in time to watch Ray make his way down, his hair flying behind him.

Bob smirked and tried to suppress a laugh, a giddy feeling bubbling up inside of him as Ray stood and joined him.

“Finally out of there,” Bob sighed, studying the ground in an attempt to appear bored.

Ray smiled wide and tilted his head to the side as he studied Bob. “Aw, didn’t you have any fun?” he asked. “I guess I owe you that coffee to make up for it, huh?”

Bob took Ray’s hand and met his eyes, the corner of his mouth quirking up in spite of himself. “I guess it was okay,” he replied, his smile growing. “Some parts were pretty okay.”

“Yeah? What parts?” Ray raised his eyebrows and watched Bob with amusement as they began their way down the driveway and back to Bob‘s car.

“Like… that vampire was pretty badass,” Bob lied before pressing his lips together in an attempt not to laugh.

“Oh right. The vampire,” Ray repeated.

Bob bumped Ray’s shoulder with his own. “And the company,“ he mumbled. Squeezing Ray’s hand, Bob glanced over at him from the corner of his eye as Ray smiled in return.


End file.
